AWWA SOURCES59226

This paper discusses San Antonio's water conservation program, which has been very successful. Per capitawater use has been reduced by over 35% since the mid '80s. The water use normalizedfor wet years in 2002 and 2003 is about 140 gallons per person per day. Actual per capitawas 126 gallons/day in 2002 and 130 in 2003. About 10 gallons of that low rate is due tohigher than normal rain in the two years. The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) spends about $5 per citizen served on waterconservation. Funding for residential programs comes from $.09/100 gallons of all waterused in the 4th tier of the rate system. The highest residential water users fund theConservation program. Commercial conservation programs are funded by a monthlymeter fee assessed to every commercial meter. The two dedicated funds provide about $7million dollars of revenue each year.The funding is used to provide a diverse mix of incentives, education, and enforcementthat supplement the conservation impact of the increasing block rate system. The goal isto involve every person in the SAWS water realm in the Conservation program.Residential programs include youth and adult education programs, landscape rebates,several types of toilet rebates, Plumbers to People, Season to Save CommunityChallenge, rain sensor rebates, hot water on demand rebate, Seasonal Irrigation Program(SIP), washing machine rebates, and free indoor and outdoor audits.Commercial programs include large-scale retrofits, irrigation design rebates, coolingtower audits, hotel linen program, low-flow toilet distribution, recycled water, Golf ForeSA, certification programs, rainwater harvesting models, and air conditioning condensatemodels.Events and sponsorships bring conservation information and technology to audiences ofseveral million people with a diverse set of interests including landscaping, gardening,music, sports, youth activities, and environmental gatherings. Every citizen in the SAWS area is expected to fulfill their water conservationresponsibility. To ensure that all are reached and that the programming offers somethingfor everyone, SAWS staffs the Community Conservation Committee (CCC) and has alarge media presence. Includes table, figures.

Product Details

Edition:

Vol. - No.

Published:

01/11/2004

Number of Pages:

6

File Size:

1 file , 290 KB